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Microfinance+context
Microfinance generally refers to lending, rather than giving.
see also:
+resources and best practices
Microfinance+background
Financial needs of poor people
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microfinance#Financial_needs_of_poor_people
Microfinance+definitions
Microfinance is the provision of financial services to low-income clients, including consumers and the self-employed, who traditionally lack access to banking and related services.
More broadly, it is a movement whose object is “a world in which as many poor and near-poor households as possible have permanent access to an appropriate range of high quality financial services, including not just credit but also savings, insurance, and fund transfers.”[1] Those who promote microfinance generally believe that such access will help poor people out of poverty.
Microfinance+where to start
Microfinance+best practices
FRONTLINE/World
This popular PBS television program travels to Uganda to explore the impact of microfinance and, in particular, how one San Francisco-based nonprofit (Kiva) is using the Web to connect borrowers with lenders, person-to-person online.
http://www.pbs.org/frontlineworld/stories/uganda601/
Muhammad Yunus
awarded the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize, along with Grameen Bank, for their efforts to create economic and social development. Author of the books:
- A World Without Poverty: Social Business and the Future of Capitalism; Public Affairs; 2008; ISBN 9781586484934
- Banker to the Poor: Micro-Lending and the Battle Against World Poverty; Public Affairs; 2003; ISBN 9781586481988
Boundaries and principles
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microfinance#Boundaries_and_principles
Books about Microfinance:
- Adams, Dale W., Douglas H. Graham & J. D. Von Pischke (eds.). Undermining Rural Development with Cheap Credit. Westview Press, Boulder & London, 1984.
- de Aghion, Beatriz Armendáriz & Jonathan Morduch. The Economics of Microfinance, The MIT Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 2005.
- Branch, Brian & Janette Klaehn. Striking the Balance in Microfinance: A Practical Guide to Mobilizing Savings. PACT Publications, Washington, 2002.
- Christen, Robert Peck, Jayadeva, Veena & Richard Rosenberg. Financial Institutions with a Double Bottom Line. Consultative Group to Assist the Poor, Washington 2004.
- Dichter, Thomas and Malcolm Harper (eds). What’s Wrong with Microfinance? Practical Action, 2007.
- Dowla, Asif & Dipal Barua. The Poor Always Pay Back: The Grameen II Story. Kumarian Press Inc., Bloomfield, Connecticut, 2006.
- Gibbons, David. The Grameen Reader. Grameen Bank, Dhaka, 1992.
- Helms, Brigit. Access for All: Building Inclusive Financial Systems. Consultative Group to Assist the Poor, Washington, 2006.
- Hirschland, Madeline (ed.) Savings Services for the Poor: An Operational Guide. Kumarian Press Inc., Bloomfield CT, 2005.
- Khandker, Shahidur R. Fighting Poverty with Microcredit, Bangladesh edition, The University Press Ltd, Dhaka, 1999.
- Ledgerwood, Joanna and Victoria White. Transforming Microfinance Institutions: Providing Full Financial Services to the Poor. World Bank, 2006.
- Mas, Ignacio and Kabir Kumar. Banking on mobiles: why, how and for whom? CGAP Focus Note #48, July, 2008.
- Raiffeisen, FW (translated from the German by Konrad Engelmann). The Credit Unions. The Raiffeisen Printing & Publishing Company, Neuwied on the Rhine, Germany, 1970.
- Rutherford, Stuart. The Poor and Their Money. Oxford University Press, Delhi, 2000.
- Wolff, Henry W. People’s Banks: A Record of Social and Economic Success. P.S. King & Son, London, 1910.
- Maimbo, Samuel Munzele & Dilip Ratha (eds.) Remittances: Development Impact and Future Prospects. The World Bank, 2005.
- Wright, Graham A.N. Microfinance Systems: Designing Quality Financial Services for the Poor. The University Press, Dhaka, 2000.
- United Nations Department of Economic Affairs and United Nations Capital Development Fund. Building Inclusive Financial Sectors for Development. United Nations, New York, 2006.
- Yunus, Muhammad. Creating a World Without Poverty: Social Business and the Future of Capitalism. PublicAffairs, New York, 2008.
Microfinance+issues
The Challenge discussion on wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microfinance#The_challenge
Confusion on Where Money Lent via Kiva Goes
Debates at the boundaries
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microfinance#Debates_at_the_boundaries
Other criticisms
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microfinance#Other_criticisms
Microfinance+lessons learned
Evidence for reducing poverty
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microfinance#Evidence_for_reducing_poverty
Microfinance+standards in field
Current scale of microfinance operations
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microfinance#Current_scale_of_microfinance_operations
"Inclusive financial systems"
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microfinance#.22Inclusive_financial_systems.22
Microcredit and the web
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microfinance#Microcredit_and_the_web
